MONDAY TITLE: Enantioselective Tactics and strategies with Iridium Catalysis
MONDAY ABSTRACT: The ability to readily access small-molecule building blocks at will has important consequences for the discovery and development of novel medicines and materials. It is particularly beneficial when the chemical methods are convenient while at the same time economically and environmentally tenable and sustainable. A focus of our research program at ETH-Zurich is the identification, study, and development of novel reactions and methods for preparation of functionalized structures. We are especially interested in catalytic processes that are easily executed and utilize readily available starting materials. We will discuss several new reaction processes that provide ready access to a host of fundamentally versatile building blocks for synthesis. The presentation will focus in part on the unique reactivity of Ir-complexes with a novel phosphoramidite-olefin ligand. We have found that these can activate allylic alcohols towards a wide range of direct displacement reactions, giving rise to optically active products.

TUESDAY TITLE: New Strategies and Tactics in Natural Products Synthesis
TUESDAY ABSTRACT: The presentation will include discussion and analysis of recent natural product targets that have been synthesized in the group. It will focus on target-oriented synthesis as an engine for the generation of novel methods and approaches to bioactive agents. The methods involve novel, unexpected reactivity and unusual building blocks that are fully integrated to lead to efficient routes. We will focus specifically on recently completed syntheses.